MSU and Bosch Collaboration Encourages Innovation and Creative Thinking Among Early Engineering Students

EAST LANSING, Mich., Feb. 13, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Robert Bosch LLC is partnering with Michigan State University's College of Engineering to cultivate innovation and creativity in the next generation of engineers.

A ribbon cutting on Feb. 11, 2013, marked the opening of the Innovation and Creative Thinking Theme Floor in Wilson Hall sponsored by Bosch. Speaking at the ceremony for Robert Bosch LLC were Maximiliane Straub, chief financial officer and executive vice president, controlling, finance and administration, and Charlie Ackerman, senior vice president of human resources. Representing MSU were President Lou Anna K. Simon and College of Engineering Dean Satish Udpa. Later in the evening, Straub, who is also vice president of the Bosch Community Fund, hosted a seminar featuring Mark Peters, director of engineering, Bosch Car Multimedia division, North America, who presented a lecture, "Innovation and Creative Thinking," to the greater MSU community. Peters provided an overview of Bosch and highlighted opportunities for career development, including student internships, available at the company.

Bosch — a leading global supplier of technology and services in the areas of automotive technology, energy and building technology, industrial technology, and con­sumer goods — has become a corporate sponsor in the Engineering Theme Partnership program. Bosch and the Bosch Community Fund contributed $200,000 in support of the Michigan State University CoRe (Cornerstone and Residential) Experience. They join Consumers Energy/the Consumers Energy Foundation and GE Transportation as a CoRe Experience Theme Partner.

Through the partnership, Bosch will be involved with both the academic and co-curricular activities of the CoRe Experience for first-year engineering students. The CoRe Experience is designed to engage engineering students early in their academic careers in experiential learning opportunities both inside and outside the classroom.

"As a company dedicated to innovation, Bosch understands the need to cultivate creativity and innovative thinking in the next generation of engineers," said Straub. "At Bosch, we strive to excite students from a very young age to pursue science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), as we know this is the basis for innovation. Innovation is the foundation of our company, where we develop products and services that are 'Invented for life.' We encourage students – and offer them hands-on opportunities – to apply their interest in STEM education as they pursue their respective career. This CoRe collaboration provides multiple opportunities to engage with students and demonstrate our commitment to investing in their education. We look forward to partnering with the MSU faculty and interacting with the students to help them shape and build their careers."

"We must engage engineering students early on, immersing them in real-world activities that will give them the tools to solve the global challenges of the future," Udpa noted. "This partnership with Bosch will allow our students to engage in hands-on activities that promote creativity and innovation as they are developing the technical engineering understanding needed to succeed. Having Bosch and its employees interact with our students early in their academic careers offers them insight into the possibilities available to them in the future. Corporate sponsorships such as this give our students an edge as they prepare to enter the workforce as professional engineers."

"In the CoRe Experience, our mission is to build the whole engineer, by supporting students in their academic, professional, and personal development," said Walton, director of the CoRe Experience. "Partners such as Bosch allow us to pursue this goal in ways that would not be possible without their support and participation."

Each year, CoRe immerses more than 1,300 freshmen in hands-on design projects from Day One, and provides a living-learning environment in Wilson Hall for more than 650 of those students. In addition to classes and labs, special seminars, advising and academic support are available within the residence hall. The co-curricular programming of CoRe is open to all engineering students. Learning from each other and through hands-on and co-curricular activities, students discover how to function in a collaborative, team-based, diverse setting.

About Bosch and the Bosch Community Fund

About Bosch:The Bosch Group is a leading global supplier of technology and services, active in the fields of automotive technology, energy and building technology, industrial technology, and con­sumer goods. According to preliminary figures, more than 306,000 associates generated sales of 52.3 billion euros ($67.2 billion USD) in 2012. The Bosch Group comprises Robert Bosch GmbH and its more than 350 subsidiaries and regional companies in some 60 countries. If its sales and service partners are included, then Bosch is represented in roughly 150 countries. This worldwide development, manufacturing, and sales network is the foundation for further growth. Bosch spent some 4.5 billion euros ($5.8 billion) for research and development in 2012, and applied for over 4,700 patents worldwide.

The Bosch Group's products and services are designed to fascinate, and to improve the quality of life by providing solutions that are both innovative and beneficial. In this way, the company offers technology worldwide that is "Invented for life." Additional information is available online at www.bosch.com and www.bosch-press.com.

In the U.S., Canada and Mexico, the Bosch Group manufactures and markets automotive original equipment and aftermarket products, industrial drives and control technology, power tools, security and communication systems, packaging technology, thermotechnology, household appliances, solar energy, healthcare telemedicine and software solutions. Having established a regional presence in 1906, Bosch employs over 22,500 associates in more than 100 locations, with sales of $9.8 billion in fiscal year 2011. For more information, visit www.boschusa.com, www.bosch.com.mx and www.bosch.ca.

About the Bosch Community Fund:The Bosch Community Fund, a U.S.-based foundation established in September 2011, awards more than $3 million annually in grants and contributions to various 501(c)(3) organizations and educational institutions. The BCF focuses primarily on the enrichment of Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) education and the advancement of environmental sustainability initiatives.